Chrisland: Court fixes inquest hearing for April 4

The coroner inquest set up to ascertain the cause of death of a 12-year-old Chrisland School pupil, Whitney Adeniran, who died on February 9, has been fixed for April 4 for hearing to commence.

Magistrate Olabisi Fajana fixed the date after entertaining submissions of all counsels who appeared before the court sitting in Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

The counsel to the deceased family, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, had informed the court that they were unable to file a witness statement as instructed by the court at the last adjourned date.

Falana told the court that the Magistrate Registry refused to process the enrolling of the witness statement, on the grounds that there was no provision for filling of coroner processes.

The counsel for Chrisland School, Mr Olukayode Enitan, SAN, and the state counsel, Mr Akin George, also corroborated the position of Falana, seeking the court’s directives as to how to get their processes filed.

Fajana informed the counsels that she would get directives from the Chief Magistrate on how to ensure that the processes were filed before the Coroner.

Enitan informed the court that he had an application before it, seeking to get samples and materials to carry out an independent evaluation of the autopsy report.

In a counter-reaction, Falana, who said that they have not been served, told the court that the autopsy of the deceased was done in the presence of the school representatives and other concerned parties.

However, the state counsel, George, told the court that what the state received was a letter, not an application, and the state would respond at the appropriate time.

Fajana, thereafter, adjourned the commencement of trial until April 4 and advised all counsels to ensure that their processes were filed and confirmed on April 3.

Whitney died during the school’s inter-house sports activities at the Agege Stadium, after being electrocuted and suffering Asphyxia, the post-mortem report from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital revealed.

The 12-year-old was buried in Lagos last Thursday.

The PUNCH had reported that the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Alo Grace, in a statement indicated that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had been instructed by the AG to issue legal advice on the matter with immediate effect.

(Punch)